874 



THE GARDENERS' MAGAZINE. 



NOVEMBHR 16, 1912. 



The <lark greon leaves are oblong- 



laiiteolate in shape, while the colour of 

 the flowers is a kind of Riagenta-purple. 



Like most acanthaceoiis plants, it is of 

 <.oniparatively easy culture. 



Clerodendron splendens. 



This climbing spei-ies, a native of tropi- 

 cal Africa, is now flowering with great 

 freedom on one of the rafters of the T 

 range. In this fashion it stands out fis 

 one of the finest climbers that we have 

 for such a structure, the panicles of bright 

 scarlet floAvers supplying a wealth of colour 

 quite distinct from any of the other occu- 

 pants of the same house. 



Leia.nthus long^if olius. 



Formerly known as Lisianthus longi- 

 folius, this gentianwort, whicli is a native 

 of th(^ AVest Indies, is in flower in the 

 inteiinediate portion of the T range. 

 It forms a freely-branched plant about 

 * ighteen inches in height, clothed with 

 ovate-lanceolate leaves about a <'Oup]e of 



inches long. Th(i. flowers, which are borne 

 in loose tcMminal panicles, have unusually 

 long and Moak pedicils, so that a plant in 

 ful flower has a singularly lax appearance. 

 The tnbe of the flower is fumiel-shaped, ex- 

 panding at the mouth into a five-])ointed 

 star about an inch across. The colour is 

 clear yellow. An allied kind that I have 

 not met with for a long timp, but which 

 was much talked about wlien first shown 

 in the forties of last centurv, is Leianthus 

 (liisianthus) nigrescens, an almost black 

 flowei-, which, when ex]>anded. h^s the same 

 firework-like contour as Leianthus longi- 

 folius its(^lf. 



Ping^uicula Kewensis. 



Some two or three vears a^i;o a very dis- 



tinct pinguicula. was flowered at Kew mider 

 th<^ name of P. Rosei. The general ap- 

 l)ea ranee of the plant suggests the well- 

 known and cliarming Pinguicula caudata, 

 but th<> flowers were of a purplish-vioh^t 

 tint. The flowers of P. Hosei are deci<l- 

 (Hlly less attractive in colour than those of 

 the older kiinl, but at the same time thev 

 afford a ])leasing variety thereto. A hy- 

 biid between the two, and bearing the 

 nam.e of P. Kewensis, is now in flower in 

 the orchid house. It is, in the colour of 

 its blossoms, about midway betw(^en the two 

 species above referred to. 



Callicarpa. purpurea. 



This has long been grown for the sake 

 of its clusters of deep violet-purple berries. 

 It is seen at its best wlien the lotm. flex- 



ible willow-like shoots are allowed to de- 

 velop to their full extent, as they are tlien 

 wreathed with berries for a considerable 

 distance. Vor this reason the plairts are 

 usually grown as loose, open luislies. or as 

 standards. A decided break away t r-oni 

 this mode of treatment is to be seen in x\]o 

 Victoria Regia house, where a ])lantc(I-ont 

 s|)<'ciinen is trainc<l to the roof, and in this 

 wav it forms a verv striking: feature. The 

 bran<li(^s. si\ feet or more in length, are 

 < lot lied with berries, which have acquired 

 an unusual depth of colouring. Though 

 the lierries are so pretty the floAvers are 

 quite insignificant. For fui'iiishing the 

 end of a sunny structure, ])rovi<ling the 



roqin"sito amount of heat is availa])le, this 

 ca 11 ir"ar|)a would form a pleasing break 



away from the diffei'ent subjects generally 

 employed for the ])urpose. K. 



Pleione humilis is now at rest, and 



should lie kept suspended at th? warm end 

 of th:^ voo] house, or the coo] end of the 

 inf orTtiodiato hoiiKe. and should have suffi- 

 cient water afforded to prevent the pscudo- 

 hulh^ >]iri veiling. It will flower rvirlv in 

 i]w Xru- y.-ar.— J. T. Barkkr, The West'llill 

 (iardcns. 



CORONILLA VARIA. 



If anyone wants a plant which will very 

 soon spread into yards, and give a 

 multitude of pink j>ea-shaped flowers in 

 summer, let him try Coronilla varia. If, on 

 the other hand, he wants a plant whicli 



will keep to its own quarters, and will not 

 trouble him by invading the territories of 

 other plants, let him keep this coronilla out 

 of his garden. It is, truly, an inveterate 

 wanderer, and will soon find its way among 

 other flowers to their detriment, but to its 

 own aggrandisement. Withal, it is hand- 

 some and graceful, and produces shoots of 

 |.retty leaves, which are adorned with 

 charmingly coloured rose coronets. But for 

 its habit of spreading at the roots and tak- 

 ing possession of too much space, it would 

 be prized in every garden. As it is, how- 

 ever, it is wiser to plant it only in odd 

 spots and in places where it c-an do no in- 

 jury to other and less aggressive flowers. 

 Planted on a dry bank it is quite at home, 

 and i.-^: a charming picture in its season. It 

 likes calcareous soil^ though this is not 

 ei-sential. This coronilla comes as readily 

 from seeds as any common annual, but is a 



true perennial in its way. 



S. Arxott. 



STANDARD APPLE TREES 



ON GRASS- 



Among the many good phases of garden- 

 ing at Aldenham none is moie striking 

 than the orchard of apple tieeson grass. 



When Mr. Beckett took charge of these 

 gardens, some twenty-seven years ago, the 

 trees had been planted a few years in 

 well-prepared stations, but the roots )iad 

 reached the circumference ov the stations, 

 an<l were unable to enter the natural 

 soil, which is clay. Therefore the trees 

 were showitjg signs of going back." 

 Mr. Beckett <lecided to thorougidy over- 

 haul the orchar<l, and in so doing tin^U'lied 

 the whole of the ground to his cu.stomai v 

 depth of three feet, and added other t]-ees 

 to bring the varif^ties up to date. 



With regular attention to pruning and 

 siu'face cultur*^ tlu' tiees have made satis- 

 factory progress, so tliat nr>w it would be 

 difficult to find a better grass orchard. 

 The trees have ample space, and as they 

 are regularly pruned the branches are not 

 crowdecl but have space enough^ to develop 

 fnlly; in many cases the branches sweep 

 the ground gracefully. With such healthy 

 ii-ees Mr. Beckett does not find it neces- 

 sary to spray at all in the summer, as 

 aphidtes,, scab, etc., are practically 'un- 

 known here. When trees in many parts 

 i)f the country were crippled with" green- 

 'iy, and gave only small fruits, the trees 

 a I Aldenham House were pictures of 

 iitaltli, and heavily laden with handsome 



i ruit. Two veai's ai^o the 



glass Avas re- 



moved sorn(^ four i'vvi tn)in the stems, so 

 that tluv trees could l)e assisted in )>erfect- 

 i?ig their heavy <'rops of frnit bv the aid 

 of co])ious supplies of sewage, which, natu- 

 rally, during a season like that of 1911, 

 was a boon to the trees. 



The most remarkable trees in the or< hard 

 are those of Wellington, as they never fail 

 to give full croi>s of handsome "^f ruit ; con- 

 sequently Mr. Beckett regards this as the 

 most <lesiral)le of all kitchen apples. Cer- 

 tainly I have not seen this variety suc- 

 ceed anywhere as it does here. 



The following are the dimensions of .some 

 few of the trec^s : Wellington (Dumelow\s 

 Seedling), stem, 13 inches in diameter four 

 feet from the ground. This tr(^e has a cir- 

 cumference of a"; vai-ds. and gave this 

 season 21 bushels of handsome fruit. Ham- 

 bledon Denx Ans is here thought most 

 highly of; at fiv** fe<'t high the .stem has 



a diameter of 14 inches, and has a branch 

 circumference of 40 yards. An excep. 

 tionally handsome tree is one of Cox'.s 

 Orange Pippin, 20 feet high, with a spread 

 of branches eight yards in diameter; Blen- 

 heim Pippin, a superior foi-m, has a 

 branch <:'ircumference of 37 yards, and 

 producied nineteen buishels of fruit this 

 year. Fearn's Pippin is an exceptionallv 

 fine tree, 35 yards in circumference, and 

 was loaded with highly-coloured fruits. 

 Needless to say, most of the popular and 

 desirable varieties, as Bramley's Seedling, 

 Norfolk Beauty, Gascoigne's Scarlet, Bis- 

 marck, and Lane's Prince Albert, are fast 

 growing into productive trees. 



Swanmore Park. E. Molynexjx. 



CERCIDIPHYLLUM 



JAPONICUM. 



It was with much pleasure that I read 

 your special number, whicli was chiefly de- 

 voted to tiowering- trees and shrubs, and 

 being much interested in it, and at present 

 in the Kew Arboretum, you wril permit me 

 to cox^rect a slight incorrectness on page SV'l 

 in the note on Cercidiphyllum jaijoniciun. 

 Your correspondent describes it as a rare 

 shrub to be planted rather in a sheltered 

 position, not l>eing vigorous, and generally 

 ranging from four to five feet high. As a 

 matter of fact I have seen this tree many 

 times and in many places. At Northampton 

 I saw a tree about 15 feet hig-h; at Hastings 

 (Alexandra Park), 30 feet high, and in other 

 English gardens I have seen trees of con- 

 siderable dimensions. I have ako seen it 

 very often on the Continent. There are some 

 remarkably flue specimens in the Impexial 

 Gardens at Potsdam, fully half a dozen 

 ranging from 30 to 50 feet high. In the Ber- 

 lin Botanic Gardens at Dahlem are fast- 

 growing trees that make two feet of growth 

 every year. In Belvoir Park at Zurich, 

 Switzerland, are plants on the open lawn 

 30 feet high, the temperature every year 

 dropping down to 10 deg. Fahrenheit. Many 

 fine speciment^ are found along the lake of 

 Geneva, and in the parks of Paris. Pro- 

 fessor Schwappach writes in the *'Year Book"^ 

 of the Dendrological Society of an experi- 

 mental forest fifty miles from Berlin with 

 an area of two acres. The trees therein are 

 twenty years old and 45ft. high, the diameter 

 of the stem lift, oin.^ with most valuable 

 timiber. In the same book Mr. L. von Gnie- 

 wosz. Konty, Poland, Eussia, writes that 

 Cercidiphyllum japonicum is the only deci- 

 duous^ tree on his estates not infected by 

 fungoid diseases or attacked by insects. 

 Beissner, the author of " Handbucirder Coni- 

 feren." writes of a tree GOft. high, that was 

 planted 1830 in a tree nursery near the Bal- 

 tic Sea. In all other points I quite ngree 

 with your correspondent, more particularly 

 w:th what he writes in praise of thi-^ most 

 i>eautiful tree. E. Kichli. 



Caustic Alkali Wash.— Most frnit 



growers buy the powder in tins, prepared 

 for use, and this wUl be found a handy way ; 

 those who may be desirous of makin'g their 

 own mixtnre may adopt the followine f'-r- 

 mula: Take lib. cauiitic soda and lib. crude 

 potash; dissolve by pouring- boiling water 

 over the chemicals, then add sufficient hot 

 water to make ten gallons^ and use while 

 warm. Apply l)y means of a sprayer, and 

 w 'ar rubber gloves to 

 from burning the hands. 



prevent the 

 -W. Messenger. 



w a s h 



perhaps the easiest of 

 force, especially where 



US. 



all 



a 



— Aspiu agus IS. 

 veo-etables to 



of 



good supjdy 

 crowns ir^ available. It will force quite 

 readily from November onwards on mild hot- 

 beds, or in warm pits; a gentle bottom heat 

 IS required, and the l>ed must he fairly nciT 

 the glass. When the bed is ready. liVt aiirl 

 plant the crowns with the lea>t i);>>-ible de- 

 lay, as the roots will quicklv suffer from 

 exposure. Place over the crowns from three 

 to four inches of light s(»il, water well in> 

 and syringe daiIy._G. Ellwood. 



